Athletic panel wants lid on some medical records

Tuesday, May 4, 1999 | 10:37 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Athletic Commission, referring to the licensing hearing held last year for Mike Tyson, Monday asked a Senate committee to allow it to keep certain medical records confidential.

The commission appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee to argue on behalf of Assembly Bill 467. The Assembly passed the bill, which would allow items to remain confidential if the athletic commission did not use them in considering whether to grant a license.

Although the Judiciary Committee heard testimony Monday, it did not take action on the bill.

Commissioner Lorenzo Fertitta of Las Vegas told the Judiciary Committee that items not related to whether a boxer was fit to fight should be withheld from the public.

An example, he said, might be a female boxer who had a miscarriage. That has nothing to do with her fitness for the match, he said, and should not be available in the public record.

In the Tyson case, the commission ordered him to undergo a psychological evaluation. Fertitta said he was concerned that Tyson, because he might fear public exposure, might have held back something from the doctor. Or the doctor, also with the same concerns, may have withheld something in the report.

The evaluation of Tyson was on the Internet and in the newspapers within hours.

Fertitta and others said some states do not want to share information with Nevada because of fear it will become public record.

Sen. Maurice Washington, R-Sparks, expressed doubts. He questioned whether a person making a wager on the fight would have all the relevant information available on the condition of the boxer.

Assemblyman David Goldwater, D-Las Vegas, who sponsored the bill, said, "You have to have faith in the commission. If the commission feels it relevant, they would disclose it."

Commission Executive Secretary Marc Ratner said other states call him about boxers, but they refuse to give him any information because they do not want their confidential records to be disclosed to the public in Nevada.